1) Cobra Starship plays a sold-out show at Vinyl.
2) Collin Kelley reads from his debut novel, Conquering Venus, at Outwrite.
3) Summer Falls opens at Whitespace Gallery.
4) The Savannah Disputation continues at Theatre in the Square.
5) Sick Puppies play the Loft.
(Photo by Matthew Salacuse)
1) Bonnie “Prince” Billy plays Variety Playhouse.
2) itodenwa opens at Whitespace Gallery.
3) The Exotic Dancer National Championships rage on at Pink Pony South.
4) Comedian Henry Cho performs at the Punchline.
5) And the Winner Is continues at Stage Door Players.
(Photo by Jesse Fischler)
COUNTRY ROAD: "América," from 'Walking to Guantanamo'
Richard Fleming, a world traveler thanks to his career as a documentary sound recordist, had his “Eureka!” moment while walking in the hills of Haiti.
Given the weekend off from his latest film, he went backpacking on Haiti’s remote mountain trails and found them to be anything but isolated. “I was walking along what amounted to a pedestrian superhighway. There were hundreds of merchants and farmers on this footpath, carrying stuff to market,” he says. “This is a great way to get to know a culture,” he thought.
Fleming hit on the notion to trek the length of Cuba on foot as a way shake off a mid-life rut and better learn a country that had fascinated him for years. He envisioned that Cuba would offer an even more illuminating walking experience than Haiti, since the collapse of the Soviet bloc had created a transportation crisis on the island, with severe shortages in fuel, vehicles and replacement parts. Fleming’s four-month Cuban adventure in 2000 led to his new travel book, Walking to Guantanamo, published in November by Commons, and now an exhibit, Walking to Guantanamo: The Photographs, on display at Whitespace Gallery through Feb. 18.
Whether through his descriptive writing laced with self-deprecating humor or through snapshots rich with illuminating details, Fleming shares his experience of Cuba as a nation of lush beauty seemingly forgotten by history. Typewriter repair shops enjoy brisk business, revolutionary slogans cover pitted walls and Afro-Caribbean religions such as Santeria have gradually come out of the closet. Although the book concludes at Guantanamo Bay, Fleming focuses more on its history as a thorn in the side of U.S./Cuban relations than the current prisoner abuse scandals at “Gitmo.” (more…)
1) The Gallery at East Atlanta Tattoo hosts an opening reception for 4 on the Floor.
2) Elevation performs at Vinyl with Mike Dunn and Kings of New England.
3) Laughing Matters Improv Company reunites at Academy Theatre.
4) Eagle Eye Book Shop hosts Southern Authors Day with Josh Batchelder and Thomas Huynh.
5) New Black, an exhibition of emerging African-American artists, opens at Studioswan.
(Image by Dave MacDowell)
